The RedHair, The Witch and The New World
by sovereign.of.the.river
Summary: She is a witch, he is a pirate and the only thing they have in common is her little brother. Will sparks fly or something else? please constructive criticism. Note: this was writen in 2009 so time line may be a little off.
1. Chapter 1

"_Ferrin Witches are the best healers in the world, but their numbers are declining. Many are leaving their island home and the bloodlines are getting weaker. Or that's what the report says."_

"_Vice Admiral Garp, weren't your wife and daughter-in-law both Ferrin Witches?"_

"_Yes, Sir, both were quite powerful Ferrin Witches."_

"_Well, Gentlemen, today is the day we make history." The rose to his feet_

_The rest of the five men stood up and left the tiny room and walked into history with the execution of Gol D. Rodger._

**Ferra Island**

_ "Sara!" called an old woman as she walked through the woods, "Monkey D. Sara, where are you, girl?"_

_ "I'm up here, Sira Ruka," called the black-haired, blue-eyed girl from a tree branch high above the woman's head._

_ "Get down here, girl. You can't be up in the trees like a moon-bird," called Sira Ruka, her old body shaking with suppressed laughter._

_ "Oh, all right, "replied Sara, shifting her position in the tree, as she tried to get down._

_ Sara managed to get down the tree without much trouble. She stood in front of Sira Ruka, both girl and woman's white robes billowing in the breeze._

_ "Look at you, girl, you've gone and gotten your robe dirty again," tsked Sira Ruka, brushing off some of the dust from Sara's robes._

_ "Sorry, Sira Ruka," laughed Sara, with a goofy grin._

_ Sighing Sira Ruka beckoned, "Come child, let us go."_

_ Sara followed Sira Ruka back toward the main Ferra Village. This was the day that Monkey D. Sara would become a full member of the Ferrin tribe and a Ferrin Healer. Each new full tribe member received a crescent moon tattoo around their left eye. The color of that tattoo was different for each class member. Red for the warriors, yellow for the craftsmen and so on. Sara's own tattoo would be blue, meaning that she was a healer._

**11 years later**

**Fuusha Village**

"Luffy! Where are you?" called Sara from the doorway of the small house, "That boy, he can't get away from those pirates."

"Hey, Sis, Luffy did eat breakfast, didn't he?" asked a boy with messy black hair, "Just let him…."

The boy sitting at the table had fallen asleep while eating his food. Though his face was covered, Sara could hear him snoring. Sighing, she walked over to him and pulled his face out of the food and laid his head next to the plate. Sara, laughed, picking up the rest of the plates as the body sat up, dazed, and continued eating again, food in his hair.

"Oh, Ace," the boy looked up when Sara called his name from the kitchen, where she was cleaning off her and Luffy's plates, "There's still more food if you want some. Just be sure to clean the dishes you dirty."

Walking out of the kitchen after putting up the dishes, Sara grabbed her jacket and bandana. As she headed for the door, Sara heard Ace say, "Whatever."

She laughed, opening the front door and left the house. The road to town was long but it was a bright day. With little clouds in the sky, today would be a good day. At least that's what Sara hoped for as she walked into town.

Fuusha Village was a small harbor town on Dawn Island on the Red line. It was not a very big village, Fuusha, about 300 people or so, but it was famous for its windmills. Rarely was Fuusha frequented by pirates, but recently they had mad port in the village for the last eleven months. Sara laughed, if you could call them pirates, all they seemed to do was party. Well, at least, it kept her working and sort of kept Luffy out of some trouble.

Party's bar was empty, save for Makino, the bar tender. Sara pulled her hair back and put the bandana on, so that it held back her hair.

"Ready for another day, Sara?" asked Makino.

"Yeah, have you see Luffy? He was gone before I finished making breakfast," said Sara as she vaulted over the bar.

"He came by here twenty minutes ago. He was looking for those pirates. Luffy has an interest in them," replied Makino, picking up a glass and towel and began cleaning.

"Yes, he has," laughed Sara as she headed back to the small kitchen.

Sara was stoking the wood burning stove, when Ryuren appeared at the back door of the kitchen area. Ryuren, the former owner of Party's bar, was a fifty-two year old who never seemed to stop working. His brown eyes were always laughing under his fading, messy, brown hair. Ryuren was carrying groceries, today. Like clockwork, Ryuren always seem to appear, when Sara fired up the stove.

"You're late," commented Ryuren when he saw Sara.

"So says the man that never sleeps," replied Sara, turning away from the stove to help Ryuren with the food. Ryuren laughed out loud, a bark like sound.

"Saw you brother, Luffy, down by the docks. He was waiting for those pirates."

"That's my brother. He's wanted to be a pirate ever since Shanks and his crew came here. Gramps isn't too thrilled."

"Of course, he isn't. Garp's a Navy man. Wait, how does Garp know about Luffy's wanting to be a pirate?"

"He called through transponder snail at a Navy post in the town of Kaishou. So I went and we talked. I let it slip about Luffy. So, we may see Gramps here in a few days, which means I'm going to have to watch Luffy and Gramps."

"Well, in that case, I'm sure Makino well let you have a little time off during those days."

"Yeah, she will. In fact she's giving me the whole week." With that all the food was stored or ready to be prepared.

Sara was beginning to prepare the vegetables and Ryuren was with the meat, when suddenly there was commotion in the front area. Ryuren stopped what he was doing to check on Makino. He quickly came back and beckoned Sara to come too.

"Hurry, Luffy's been injured."

Sara dropped what she was doing and followed Ryuren into the Bar area. The mayor, Woop Slap, was standing there looking very distressed.

"There you are, Sara. Hurry, Luffy has been hurt," beckoned the mayor as her sped out the door.

"Luffy, what did you do?" whispered Sara as she hopped the bar and followed the mayor to the small clinic.

When Sara entered the main area, the mayor led her to where Luffy was crying and bleeding from under his left eye. Sara rushed past all the villagers and pirates, to Luffy's side. When Sara started looking at the wound more thoroughly, she noticed it was not as deep as she first suspected.

"I need a clean gauze, water, cloth, needle, and sutra string," ordered Sara at the people behind her.

"Yes Ma'am!" came an answer from behind her.

"Luffy, little brother, you have to stop crying. You're only making the wound worse." Sara's voice was calm and reassuring, "What did you do to yourself?"

"O-o-okay," sniffled Luffy as a man appeared with a Medical kit and another with a basin of water, "Well I wanted to prove that I was good enough to be a pirate, so I stabbed myself."

"Oh, Luffy," sighed Sara, "That was a foolish thing to do.

Taking the cloth that she had soaked in the water, Sara began to clean Luffy's face. The wound was too close to Luffy's eye, that Sara feared it maybe damaged. She worried she would have to use her Ferrin abilities to heal the wound and lose not only her secret but possible Luffy's eye. Luffy needed both his eyes. After the bleeding had stopped, Sara began to try to heal Luffy with her Ferrin abilities, though she had to be careful.

Being a Ferrin Healer outside the island of Ferra, one was not exactly welcomed with open arms once they found out. People didn't call Ferrin Healers, Ferrin Witches for nothing. Some said that the reason the Ferra could heal like that was a devil's curse. It was not like any other people of the world could knit flesh and bone.

Thankfully Sara had nothing to worry about, thee light coming trough the open window was just right that it looked as if both Sara and Luffy were glowing. Sara began to concentrate on Luffy's wound. She could feel the energy growing inside of her. When she could feel the tingling of built up power, Sara slowly released the energy into the wound. Too fast and the wound would start bleeding again and there would be more damage. Slowly the wound began to heal, but the amount of energy Sara had left was quickly diminishing. She really needed to learn to build up her energy better.

Realizing she would not have enough energy to fully heal Luffy's wound without her not being able to stand let alone walk, Sara quickly stopped healing after she felt herself get very light-headed. The now much shallower wound was not healed well enough for Sara liking but, it would not give Luffy any more problems. So Sara began to stitch the rest shut.

"Ow!"yelled Lufy.

"Oh, shut up. This is what you get stabbing yourself," growled Sara.

She was way too tired to deal with him right at the moment. When as was done, Sara stood up and turned to the small crowd of people, now she noticed that most were pirates and only a handful were villagers.

"Luffy's going to be fine. The wound only looked bad," announced Sara as she gave a tired smile to the crowd.

A collective sigh went through the crowd. Patting Luffy's head, earning her a loud 'hey!', Sara headed out of the clinic back to Party's Bar. She could hear the whispers and didn't want to deal with them. When Sara entered the bar, Ryuren and Makino were waiting for her.

"Sara, are you alright?" asked Makino worryingly.

Sara realized that she must look terrible. "I'm fine but if nobody minds, can I rest in the back room?"

Both Makino and Ryuren looked at each other, then at Sara. Neither one spoke for a fraction of a second as Sara stood there swaying from weary. It was Makino spoke first.

"Of course you can, Sara," replied Makino as she went to help Sara into the back room.

"Thanks," mumbled Sara as she sat down at the prepping table and fell asleep for an hour to regain her strength.


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to start off by saying thank you all who have read my story. Thanks fudgemonkey87 for being the first reviewing my story and pointing out something that I really did not elaborate on earlier. I hope I give a little more detail in this chapter. **

**We will not be see much of Sara until the next chapter(which don't have names b/c I'm too lazy to think of some right now.) but this chapter is much about Shanks and some Luffy too(It's mostly from the manga.). So enjoy.  
**

***Disclaimer*I do not own one piece or any of its characters. **

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Shanks watched the blue-eyed, black haired woman, who was Luffy's sister, enter the small clinic. Even if he had only seen her a few times, Shanks had to admit Luffy's sister was definitely beautiful. When she saw Luffy, she instantly ran up to him. In that moment Shanks realized something, He could not remember the woman's name.

_'What is her name?' _thought Shanks, _'Luffy's always talking about her along with wanting to be a pirate, so I usually just tone him out.'_

"Captain," whispered, the First mate, Ben Beckman in Shanks' ear, as the two watched Sara heal Luffy, "that girl is a Ferrin Healer. It's amazing that the villagers don't ostracized her."

Shanks nodded. He had noticed in the few times that he had seen Luffy's sister that she had the moon tattoo over her left eye. Though Shanks had a lot on his mind, he had often wondered why she was here in this tiny village. Seeing Ferrin outside their island was rare at best, especially the healers. Ferrin healers were not exactly well like around the world, hence them being called Ferrin Witches.

"I noticed that," commented Shanks, after a moment, "It's such a small village, I don't think they really know the significance of the tattoo or the color."

At that moment, Sara stopped. She was ghostly pale, Shanks was not even sure she could stand up. Healing took a lot out of a Ferrin healer, if they did not know their limit it could kill them. It was good, then, that Sara had stopped or she might have used up all her energy. Shanks was in mid-thought when the woman stood up, all she said was, "Luffy will be fine" and walked out.

Luffy had his usual goofy grin, when Shanks came up to him. Luffy commented happily, "Sara's amazing."

So that was her name thought Shanks. Both Shanks and Beckman looked at each other over Luffy's head, a silent conversation between the two men. Could Luffy not know that his sister was very much different from everyone else or was he so use to it that Luffy could not tell the difference? Shanks, frankly, did not care that much. He sometimes enjoyed Luffy's company but he was definitely more interested in Sara. After a moment, Shanks turned to his crew smiling.

"Now Men, we've had a good day, Now Let's Celebrate!"

The men cheered, even Luffy was laughing, as everyone headed out the clinic to Party's Bar. Two hours had past, and the pirate crew was still partying. Shanks listened to some of his crew telling Luffy about all the fun thing pirates get to do. He did not want the kid to get any ideas.

"C'mon Cap'n," said one of the crew members, "Let's take the Lad with us just this once."

"Aye," commented another.

"Yeah!" said Luffy excitedly.

Shanks did not really have to think about it, he already made up his mind. It would be too much of an extra risk if Luffy came along. Shanks did not want to have to rescue the kid or worry about him for that matter.

"Okay," said Shanks nonchalantly, "But ONE OF YOU will have to stay behind."

The crewmen looked at each other and said of the same time, "Sorry Laddy, you've been Beached. Let's drink!"

"Hey!" yelled Luffy in anger, "I thought you guys were on my side!"

After hearing this, Shanks turned around smiling, "You're just too young, kid. Maybe in ten years I'll give you a chance."

"Cap'n Shanks!" yelled Luffy, furious, "I'm telling you I'm NOT a little kid."

Shanks returned to face the bar, a smirk appearing on his face, "Don't get upset now," Shanks offered Luffy a glass, "Here have some milk."

"Oh, Boy!" said Luffy accepting and drinking the milk happily, "Thanks."

Shanks burst into hysterical laughter. He was laughing so hard he was crying. Oh, how he loved to tease this kid.

"See," laughed Shanks, "A real pirate would never drink milk!"

Luffy was instantly furious. "That was a dirty trick!" Then turning away from the bar and the still laughing Shanks, Luffy huffed "I'm getting tired of this. I stabbed myself in the face so you'd take me with you."

It was then that the first mate spoke as he lit a cigarette. "Luffy," spoke Ben Beckman, the cigarette lighting easily, "Than Captain's just doing what's best for everyone."

"How do you figure, Mr. First Mate?" asked Luffy curiously.

"The safety of the entire crew and the ship rests on his shoulders. Being a pirate isn't all fun and games, you know," said Ben Beckman, crushing the match, "There's lots of duties like: pillaging, hostage taking, Heavy drinking, **AND** SWIMMING!"

Luffy looked confused as he listened to the First Mate. Everyone was drinking, eating and celebrating. Shanks was still laughing at his joke. Ben Beckman continued speaking.

"And the Captain knows all about all the dangers of the sea too. It can kill you in a thousand ways. It's not that he want to crush your dream of becoming a pirate."

"Well I don't believe it!" said Luffy, again angry, "Shanks just likes to make me look dumb!"

Almost as if on que, Shanks yelled at Luffy, "Hey, Anchor!" as he clutched his side, still laughing. Luffy pointed at Shanks, he wanted to show Ben Beckman, "I told you!"

The owner and bartender of Party's Bar, Makino, appeared from behind the bar carrying a barrel of beer for the celebrating pirates. Luffy's older sister Sara came out the back room looking much better than she had two hours earlier.

"Captain Shanks," said Makino smiling, "I'm glad to see you and your crew are enjoying yourselves."

"Ho Boy," laughed Shanks nodding, "I just love making fun of this kid."

"Hmm" muttered Ben Beckman to himself, "Maybe the Lad's got a point."

"Luffy," asked Makino still holding the beer, "would you like something to eat?"

"Yeah," replied Luffy happily, "Just put it on my Treasure Tab!"

"Treasure Tab?" commented Shanks, "Look boy, don't try to swindle the Lady."

"I'm gonna become a pirate, find lots of treasure, and then I'll come back and pay her," replied Luffy, preparing to eat.

Makino laughed, "We'll celebrate together when you return."

Luffy smiled as Makino retrieved some food from Ryuren. Sara told Makino she would pay for the food but Makino refused. She loved the little boy as much as Sara did.

"Shanks," asked Luffy eating the large piece of meat.

"Yeah kid?" replied Shanks continuing to eat.

"How much longer will you stay at this village?"

"Hmm, Let's see," said Shanks, stopping to think, "We've been using this village for our base for about a year. After two or three more voyages, we'll leave here for good and head North."

"I see," commented Luffy eating, "Two or three more trips, eh?"

Makino watched Luffy's face. She knew he wanted to go with the pirate but he was so young. Makino worried that Luffy might do something more rash than stabbing himself in the eye.

"I'm gonna learn how to swim by the time you leave," said Luffy to Shanks.

"That's good kid," said Shanks, not really caring, "Do whatever you want."

Though inside the bar was quite loud, everyone was having fun. It had been three hours since the pirates had come in and the last of the liquor had been sold. Suddenly the swinging doors were kicked in. One side of the door had been kicked so hard that it broke off its hinges and bounced across the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi Everyone, thanks for reviewing and reading. Sorry it has been a while since I posted anything. With College, Band, and OneManga not letting us read manga anymore, I have not really had the time to write anything. Thankfully you will more chapters quickly(maybe once a week) as soon as these next two or three chapters are compelted. This is mostly because I will not Have to use online resourses to write this fanfiction.**

***Spoiler* There will be more of the somewhat budding relationship between Sara and Shanks, though it's not in this chapter. Next one is definitly it.**

**Once again please write constructive critisim, I do not own One Piece, and enjoy.**

Everyone stopped instantly to look at the entrance. Several shadowy figures moved into the tavern. No one was really sure who the newcomers were. The largest of the figures spoke first, Make way for the Scourge of the Mountains! No one moved.  
The man chuckled evilly, "So you call yourselves pirates, eh?" He surveyed the room. "First time I ve seen pirates. You look like a sorry lot to me."

None of the pirates said anything. They just watched the men enter. Even Luffy looked up from eating. When the leader stepped up to the bar, he bumped into Shanks purposefully. Makino remained silent and Sara watched these newcomers with a wary eye.

"We're mountain bandits," said the leader Higuma the Bear, "Oh, don t wet yourselves. We re not here to bust up the place. Just sell us ten barrels of grog, and we ll injure only the bare minimum."

"I' m sorry," replied Makino nervously, "We just ran out of liquor."

Higuma looked about the bar once more and said, "That's strange. What're all these pirates drinking? Fruit juice?"

"It's true," said Makino tensely, "I just severed the last of it.'

"I feel kinda guilty," said Shanks turning to the bandit, "I guess we drank up all the liquor. Sorry about that." Shanks then picked up a lone bottle of liquor. "Why don t you have this? It s still unopened."

Higuma looked the lone bottle. He did not say anything but brought up his fist, smashing the bottle to pieces in Shanks face. Broken glass and liquor went everywhere. The shattering of the glass was so violent that even Luffy had to shield his face. Makino held her hand to her face in a silent gasp of horror. Sara, too, had a look of shock. Luffy, who had been eating again, stopped his mouth wide open. Many of the mountain bandits smirked at what their leader had done. None of the pirates made a move, nor did they say anything, they only watched to see what would happen next."What do you take me for?" asked Higuma, "You can't make a fool of me! What good is ONE bottle of grog?"

"Oh my," said Shanks, soaking wet, "What a mess."

Higuma did not care. Look at this, He held up a wanted poster, "My head's worth about 8 million berries. I'm a wanted man. I've killed fifty-six people, mostly people like you!"

Higuma looked at Shanks and his crew, "Watch yourself if you're fond of breath. If you're smart you'll sail away from here so I never see you again."

By now Shanks had hopped off the barstool and was picking up the shattered glass. "Sorry about this mess, Makino," said Shanks, "Give me a rag and I'll clean up."

"Shanks," said Sara, "you don't have to do that. I'll take care of it later." Even Makino said, "Don't worry about it."

Higuma noted what Shanks was doing. He drew his sword. Sara barely had anytime to warn Shanks or say anything for that matter, as Higuma's sword whipped across the top of the bar knocking off all the dishes and shattering them. Shanks was knocked to the floor to protect himself as he covered his face with his hat.

"So you like to clean?" asked Higuma, "That ought to keep you busy for a while."

As the bandits left, Sara whispered to Makino, "Are you alright?" Her friend merely nodded as she when to help Shanks.

"Captain, are you ok?" asked Makino, "Are you hurt." Shanks put up his hand. "I m fine. No harm done."

"Are you sure?" asked Sara not really buying Shanks first answer.

The pirate captain similed and merely nodded at her. Then out of nowhere laughter erupted from the pirates. Even Shanks was laughing but Luffy was not.  
"You think it's funny, yelled Luffy, everyone stopped laughing then. "He made you look like a weakling! Why didn't you fight him?"

"Luffy!" said Sara, "It's nothing to get mad about."

But Luffy ignored his older sister, "Sure, they outnumbered you, and maybe they looked tough, but what kind of man lets himself be threatened like that then laughs about it? You're a disgrace to all pirates!"

A who might just have something to hide thought Sara. There was more to the pirate captain the meets the eye.  
"He got some grog on me, that's all. Needless killing doesn't make you a man," replied Shanks calmly, putting on his hat, "When you grow up maybe you'll understand, kid."

Luffy did not want to here that answer. Shanks grabbed Luffy's arm. "Hey, where are you going?"

Luffy had turned on his heel and was heading toward the door, saying something about finding a real role model. Instead of being jerked back by Shanks, Luffy just kept walking and his just stretched. Many of the pirate's jaws hit the floor and some even spit out their drinks. Both Sara and Makino had looks of shock on their faces.  
"His arm is stretching! Does this mean?" asked Shanks, "Did he?"

"What's wrong with me?" yelled Luffy as on of the pirate looked in a small chest that had been left on one of the tables.

"The Gum-Gum Fruit we took from that enemy ship," he reported, "It's not here."

Then turning to Luffy with a drawing, the pirate questioned him, "Luffy, you didn't eat that fruit, did you?"

Luffy replied, "Yeah, I ate it for desert. It didn't taste that great though."

Shanks was furious."That's the Gum-Gum Fruit! It's one of the Devil Fruits and one of the Rarest Treasures in the Sea.!" yelled Shanks.

"Captain Shanks," said Sara, "Please leave my little brother alone!"

But Shanks did not hear her and kept on going. "Whoever eats it will turn into a Rubber Man and will never be able to swim!"

Luffy had a look of utter shock on his face." WHAAAAT! You're Kidding RIIIIIGHT!" Sara just sighed, her litter brother was such an idiot somtimes. It was a wonder he was still alive. The rest of the afternoon and most of the night was Luffy and Shanks yelling at each other that finally Ryuren and Sara had to break them up. Sara did take Luffy home, finally after getting him to calm down.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope to get the next chapter up soon. Thanks to all for the constructive critism, it has been help getting this story to the way it is. I really hope you like this part. **

**4shadowedice4, thank you for calling my attention to that glich. I will try to get that fixed as soon as possible. Not sure how that happened.**

**Again I do not own One Piece or it's Characters. Enjoy**

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The next day was, almost, like any other for Sara, since Shanks and his crew had come to her small town. Though this day she did sleep much later than she really should have, but she had been up most of the night arguing with Luffy and trying to make him calm down. Ace had not been much help in that situation. Though when Sara, finally, got out of bed, the house was empty, both Ace and Luffy were gone. For Luffy that was not unusual since the Shanks and his crew started staying in Fuusha, but Ace always seem to wait for Sara to get up and leave after Sara did. Today Sara had the house to herself, while she got ready for work.

It was mid morning when Sara finally left the house. She headed down the familiar way, but today was anything but normal. There were shouts coming from the center of town. As Sara got closer, she could Makino's, the Mayor's and Luffy's voice with another that she did not recognize.

"Luffy," breathed Sara as she rounded the corner of a shop to get to the main street.

The Mayor was begging the Mountain bandits to let Luffy go, but the leader was not budging.

"But I'm afraid it's too late. No one can save this brat now," said Higuma, "He's done the unpardonable: ha attacked me and he called me names." He pressed his boot on to Luffy's head. "I can't take that from this little rubber-spined Freak!"

Sara was shaking in fury and bit her lip to keep her from doing something stupid. She had to think rationally in any situation, that's Sira Ruka had drummed into her. Though Luffy was not making the situation any better.

"YOU started this bandit!" yelled Luffy, "You Mountain Macaque!"

"Luffy!" shouted both Sara and Makino, as the Mayor pleaded again, "Please forgive him."

Sara had been so focused on Luffy and the bandits that she had not seen Shanks or his crew appear. It really had not registered that it was Shanks until he spoke.

"Nobody came to greet us at the harbor. I was wondering what was going on."

"Captain Shanks," said Sara as relief washed over her.

"Oh, it's you mountain bandits again," said Shanks as he moved passed the Mayor and Makino, "Luffy, I thought your punch was as powerful as pistol."

"Not now Cap'n!" hissed Luffy.

Higuma looked at Shanks with contempt. "You pirates are still here? Taking a break from you cleaning duties?" Shanks just kept walking slowly toward the bandits.

"I don't know what you want, but you'd better back off before you get hurt," said Higuma, "Come any closer and we'll have to kill you, cowards."

Shanks ignored the leader of the mountain bandits and continued walking toward them and Luffy. Sara could feel her heart beginning to race again, but she did not move because Sara might cause more problems for the situation. She some how knew that Shanks knew what he was doing. Suddenly out of no where a bandit points a pistol at Shanks' head.

"Didn't you hear him?" questioned the bandit, smirking, "Don't come any closer or I'll blow you head off."

The bandits all began to laugh, as if expecting Shanks to cower but he did not. Calmly Shanks said, "You're putting your life on the line by pointing that at me."

The bandit holding the pistol looked confused, "What are you talking about?"

Shanks pointed behind him. "I'm saying it's not safe to point guns."

Out of no where one of Shanks' crew shoots the bandit in the head. Every one was shocked, even the bandits as they're comrade's body landed on the ground.

"Now you've gone and done it!" cried on bandit. Another yelled, "What've you done? That wasn't fair!"

"Fair?" answered on of the pirates in mock disbelief.

"Stop whining, Landlubbers," said Ben Beckman, "You're not dealing with saints here."

"We're Pirates," commented Shanks, "and WE don't play by the rules."

"This was none of your business!" shouted one of the bandits.

"Listen up," said Shanks, his voice commanding, "You can pour drinks on me, you can throw food at me, you can even spit on me, I'll just laugh that stuff off. But good reason or not, NOBODY HURST A FRIEND OF MINE!"

Higuma just laughed at Shanks, Luffy had a look of shock on his face and Sara smiled softly even though her heart was racing with fear.

"Nice speech! Very intimidating!" laughed Higuma, "You pirates spend you time floating around in you little ships. And you think you can stand up to mountain bandits? Don't make me laugh! Kill them!

The bandits drew they're swords and charged Shanks and his crew, but Ben Beckman stepped next to Shanks. "Cap'n, I'll take care of this." The first bandit to Ben Beckman received Beckman's cigarette in his eye. The other bandits were not as lucky, they were all beaten in a matter of minutes, with the butt of Beckman's gun.

"You were saying something about mountain bandits and pirates?" asked Ben Beckman as he lit another cigarette, "If you wanna fight us, you better bring a battleship."

Sara's jaw dropped, she had never seen anyone move that fast. All Makino, Luffy and the Mayor could say was "Wow." Higuma had a look of fear on his face.

"But the brat started it."

"Doesn't matter," replied Shanks with deathly calm, "There's a price on you're head isn't there."

Higuma had a look of pure fear on his face for a moment, and then he merely smiled something in his hand. In a matter of seconds the smoke covered everything.

"Luffy!" yelled Sara, but as the smoke cleared Luffy and Higuma were gone.

"Damn," cried Shanks, "I let him escape! We've gotta save Luffy!"

"Calm down Captain," said a pirate, "We'll all go out and look for him! We'll find him."

Ben Beckman and Sara looked at each other in silent conversation.

"Cap'n," spoke Ben Beckman.

"Shanks," said Sara, she finally got Shank's attention.

"We think the bandit took him to the sea," said both Sara and Ben Beckman.

All the pirates nodded, even Shanks smiled. As everyone headed toward the harbor, Shanks took hold of Sara's wrist. She turned and looked at the pirate captain. Shanks' eyes were a storm, while his face was calm.

"I'll get him back, Sara, I promise," said Shanks

"Thank you," whispered Sara.

Then Shanks did something unexpected, he kissed her forehead. It was an almost brotherly kiss, but it left Sara shocked. Then as quickly as the kiss happened Shanks let go of Sara and ran toward the harbor, leaving Sara just standing there for a moment. After a few moments Sara followed suit. All the pirates stood on the docks but Shanks rushed past them handing his hat and cape to Ben Beckman, jumped into the water and began swimming out to where Higuma and Luffy were. They were very far off the Sara could only see a small dark out line.

Sara, herself, was about to follow Shanks but some grabbed her arm.

"Don't," said Ben Beckman, "You'll only make more problems for Cap'n."

Sara was about to protest but the look Ben Beckman and the other pirates were giving her made her stop. It would be at least thirty minutes before Shanks would return with Luffy. Shanks had to be helped out the water, his arm was missing. After make sure Luffy was unhurt, Sara let Makino take Luffy to calm him down while Sara went to Shanks. As a Ferrin healer, Sara went to heal Shanks' arm but he grabbed her arm before she could start healing the arm.

"No," hissed Shanks, his eyes locking on hers, "I know what you want to do but no."

"But I can heal your arm," protested Sara.

"If you try that, you might kill yourself," argued Shanks, "I can't let you do that."

"I won't lose that much power," stated Sara, "I'm not that weak."

"Sara." It was a plea. "I know you want to, but I've had enough of my friends hurt today. Don't do it."

Shanks and Sara stared at each other for a few moments. Finally Sara gave in.

"Fine," she whispered, "I won't heal your arm."

The pirates carried Shanks away to the small clinic where Sara had healed Luffy wound. Sara went to check on Luffy and assured herself that he was fine. When that was taken care of, Sara headed to the small clinic. When she entered Shanks' room, Shanks' arm was bandaged and Ben Beckman was there talking to Shanks. Ben Beckman stopped talking when he saw Sara and left the room, closing the door behind him. Shanks watched Sara for a moment; he could see in her eyes that she was hurt by all this.

"Luffy's unhurt," said Sara, it was barely a whisper.

"That's good," replied Shanks, "Sara, I know what you are thinking and the answer is still no."

"But Captain Shanks please," said Sara, "I won't use up that much power. I won't kill myself, I promise."

"Sara, I'll be fine," said Shanks calmly. Sara began to protest but Shanks cut her off, "I don't want you to put yourself in danger for me. I care about you too much."

It was a command; Sara could not help but to follow. She merely nodded. "I just wanted you to know Luffy was alright and he is worried about you." Sara turned and left, leaving Shanks alone. She did not go back to Party's Bar or home. Sara walked out of Fuusha Village and wondered until she found a tiny mountain stream. She sat there and watched the water flow. When twilight came, Sara returned to her house but she did not see Shanks off. It was hard for her to say good bye. In the end it was the biggest mistake of her life, but by the time Sara realized that it was too late Shanks was gone. Sira Ruka had told her that the Future was uncertain; Sara only hoped that their paths crossed again.


	5. Chapter 5

So I tried to write in a week time but I just could not do it. I would make a excuss about band or school but that is not it i just could not write for the longest time. This is what took long.

**4shadowedice4**: Since I have no idea how months work in One Piece this is going to a little complicated. In Chapter 1 of this Fanfic, in the first part of the chapter Sara is 15, after the time skip she is 26.(the '11 years' is for Sara becasue she is 15 at the time of Gol D. Rodger's death but it is 11 years and X number of months later.) Right now she is 31. If you have in more question just ask. I confused myself so many times trying to work this out.

Please read, and review. I don't own One Pice or its characters but I do own the Island of Hat'ha, its people, and Sara.

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5 Years  
Hat'ha Island

_Bam bam bam_. The early morning sun peaked through the curtains of a small bed room. Monkey D. Sara hated waking early, especially when it was someone or something else that had woken her up. Slowly Sara got out of bed, as another round of banging on her door could be heard. Dressed in a blue tunic and black pants, Sara went down stairs to see who was pounding on her door but she could guess exactly who it was. Mr. Jasine was a thin, rat-like man, who always seemed to be looking over his shoulder. Sara had often wondered how his wife loved him, until she saw Mrs. Jasine, a selfish woman, who demanded that everything be perfect. Sara gave Mr. Jasine a smile as she handed him the boxes of the fourth version of the jewelry set she had done for the Jasine's fifth daughter.

"Thank you," said Mr. Jasine, taking the boxes, "I'm sorry about all this."

"It's not a problem, Mr. Jasine," replied Sara, "but tell your wife any more changes without paying me the full price and I will not do any more business with you."

"Y-y-yes," squeaked Mr. Jasine as he scurried away, after paying Sara a small amount of what they actually owed which was about 5,000 _seny_.

Sara sighed as she closed the door. That man was the only one who seemed to get away with waking her up so early in the morning and not face threats of dismemberment. Mostly because she felt sorry for the man, his wife was not a nice woman at all. She had threatened Sara with loss of patronage until Sara kindly pointed out that this was one of the nicer places to get jewelry and the closest too. Hat'ha Island was part of the Amne'alota archipelago, which was near to the Island of Ferra. The rest of the morning was quite, with the only events being people picking up various orders, and Sara delivering what she could to the customers in her town.

There was little time for herself at all now, but Sara would not have it any other way. Though she was a Ferrin Healer and most people were used to the Ferra on this island, the town had its own doctors so Sara could practice her hobby of jewelry making. Working on a particularly complicated necklace design, Sara let her mind wonder back five years. She seemed to be thinking a lot of the red-haired pirate captain who had spent time in Fushia Village.

"You are thinking of someone special?" The question startled Sara. She had been so lost in thoughts of Shanks, that she had not heard the customer enter the shop. Sara put down the necklace, which was going to have to be redone, and looked at the person who had spoken. Mrs. Halia was an elderly woman, Matron of the whole town*.

"Was it so obvious," laughed Sara tensely as she stood up to get 's order.

"A mother just knows." Mrs. Halia smiled as Sara put the multiple boxes into a large bag. "Who is He?"

Sara regarded Mrs. Halia for a moment. Could Sara tell her about Shanks, whom was a famous pirate even on this remote island? So after a short silence, Sara answered. "He's a sailor but it has been so long since I last saw him. He probably does not even remember me." Sara handed the bags with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. She was still angry at herself for the mistake she made five years ago.

If Mrs. Halia noticed, she did not say anything. She just replied, "Maybe since you love him, just maybe fate will return him to you." With another smile that spoke of hope. If that hope was for her, Sara could not tell. "You will be at the festival, tonight?"

"If I can get all this work done," replied Sara motioning to all the unfinished and unrepaired jewelry, "I hope to be there. The Spring Solstice Festival is my favorite time of the year."

"Well get back to work, girl, you don't want to miss the festival." With that Mrs. Halia left Sara alone. Sara looked at the jewelry, her motivation suddenly really low. In the end Sara decided that sometimes things are just not worth doing when you are heartbroken.

Bright colors, laughing people, delicious food, and all sorts of entertainment, everything that made festivals fun or, at least, it was for some people. Sara sat on a bench, feeling very much like an outsiders looking in. The Spring Solstice Festival was the second largest festival on Hat'ha. It was normally a time to celebrate the end of the Dry season, but with a marriage between two prominent families there was extra excitement in the air. There were so many happy emotions, that somehow it made Sara feel empty inside. With so many couples here, she felt lonely. It was not that any of the single men were not cute; Sara had fallen hard for one man.

If Sara had been not been watching the people, she might have seen the pirates a lot sooner. They stood out for the other people but it was they're familiarity that held Sara's attention. Where had she seen them before? Then it hit her, as a flash of red passed the corner of eyesight! There was no mistaking Lucky Roux, Ben Beckman, or the man she had fallen really hard for. Shanks was really here! Sara froze in place, her mind told her leave but her legs would not move. Sara was in turmoil, she wanted to see him but at the same time she did not. She was not sure he would remember her anyway but still Sara sat there, unable move.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello readers. I first want to say I'm sorry this took so long. Unfortunately things happen and Karma has a weird way with things. I had major writer's block, loads of drama in my life(A,K.A College) and could not write for a very long time. On to clearing some things up(I am really bad at explaining things so bear with me).**

**1. About Sara's Age: In this Chapter Sara is 31****.**

**2. Shanks knowing about Ace: As of Right now Shanks does not know about Ace or that he is Luffy's(and Sara's) brother. When I wrote the frist, second, and third chapters of this story; I had not read The One Piece Chapter 552 and Chapters 582-589 had not been published yet. I do plan to make sure the event(Shanks and Ace meeting for the first time) of chapter 552 do happen(possibly in ch.7).**

**I hope I explained it well enough, sorry if I didn't. If you have any more questions, just ask but be warned I may be planing to explain it in a later chapter. **

* * *

Silently Sara prayed that Shanks would not see her. For a few moments, the pirates disappeared from her view and Sara sighed in relief. She slumped back down on the bench, relieved that no one of the Red Hair Pirates saw her. Her relief was short lived as a large shadow moved into her line if vision.

"Sara?" The question made Sara jump. "Sara, is that you?" Sara looked up at the person standing in front of her. Shanks had not changed a bit since she last saw him. Though it was nice seeing him, Sara could only smile. A huge grin spread across Shanks' face, as she nodded and said, "Hello, Captain."

Before Sara knew what was happening, she was being pulled off the bench and through the crowds. Sara tried to get her wrist away from Shanks but his grip was like iron.

"Shanks!" cried Sara over the crowd, "Where are you going?"

But Shanks did not answer her. Then again it did not really surprise Sara; with all the people and music, Shanks may not have heard her. Though the crowds Shanks pulled her and Sara was still really wishing she was still on that bench. Shanks pulled Sara to where his crew was waiting outside one of the few bars in the town.

"Boys! Look who I found!" Shanks had a goofy grin as he pulled Sara next to him. Many of the newer faces just looked from their captain to but, those Sara could recognize had huge grins on their faces. Even Ben Beckman was smiling.

"C'mon Men! Let's celebrate!" The pirates cheered and, even, Sara smiled. The pirates began to fill the bar and Shanks pulled Sara with him.

Sara sat between Beckman and Shanks at the small bar. Shanks was laughing at his partying crew and drinking. While Beckman lit a cigarette, Sara sipped her beer and laughed at the antics of Shanks and his crew.

"Sara," spoke Ben Beckman, turning to her, "What are you doing on this island?"

"Well," said Sara, "To make a long story short, I had to get away from my family."

Both Shanks and Beckman stared at Sara, probably thinking what had Luffy done. Sara sighed and shook her head at the two men.

"I promise Luffy was not the reason," said Sara, smiling a little, "When my grandfather 'paid' a visit to Fushia after you left, Luffy told Gramps that he was going to become a pirate after Gramps claimed Luffy would become a great Marine."

"Sara, who's your grandfather," asked Beckman.

"Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp," replied Sara bitterly.

Unfortunately Sara might have said that a little too loudly because everyone stopped and looked at her. The only person's whose jaw had not dropped to the floor was Beckman. True to form, Beckman merely smoked his cigarette. The silence was very unnerving. After what seemed like an eternity, Sara held up her hands in exasperation.

"Yes, Vice-Admiral Garp is my grandfather," said Sara, "and don't think I like being related to him."

"Sara, what's hard to believe is that you and Luffy are related to a man like that," commented Beckman.

"Well," replied Sara bitterly, "not even his only family is safe from his ideas. You can't pick the family you're born to."

"True enough," said Beckman, "Captain, do you really need to keep that ridiculous expression?"

It might have been the bitterness in Sara's voice or his first mate's 'joke', but Shanks snapped out of his dumbfounded trance. "What do you mean?"

"My grandfather wants my brothers to be in the Navy. Poor Luffy always got the worst of it," said Sara, "Gramps berated, beat, and belittles Luffy every chance he gets and that's not the worst of it. Before I managed to put a stop to it, Gramps had thrown Luffy into the forest at night, tied Luffy to balloons and let them go."

"HE DID WHAT!" yelled Shanks, another shocked look appeared on his face.

Shanks reaction caught Sara a little off guard. Though she had expected some reaction from Shanks but Sara had not expected this type of reaction. For some odd reason, Sara had been hoping Shanks would act seriously. What was she thinking! Sara stole a look at Shanks, he was wearing a button-down shirt, half opened, and pants that had palm trees on them. If she did not know who he was, Sara would not have taken Shanks seriously.

"Gramps used to do a lot of things to Luffy until I put somewhat of an end to it. Then when Gramps finally got on my nerves I left Fuushia." Sara looked down at the floor, "He just kept on about how I failed him because Luffy wanted to be a pirate. I had to get away from him, so I left and came here. I wish I hadn't though."

Sara looked up as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Shanks saw Sara was distressed over leaving her brother, but at that moment Shanks could not think of a way to comfort her.

"I'm sure Luffy is fine."

Then many of Shanks's crew began talking about their experiences with Luffy. Most of the pirates were laughing at the memories of Luffy's antics. Soon even Sara was sharing her stories and laughing with everyone. She started feeling a little better. Then someone in the crowd raised a glass and yelled: "CHEERS TO LUFFY!"

Everyone, especially the pirates who knew Luffy, cheered. The partying resumed, everyone was singing, laughing, or dancing. Everyone that is, except, Beckman, who just relaxed and watched the festivities and; Shanks, who just watched Sara as she danced with Lucky Roux.

"She really has grown up." Shanks looked at his first mate. "What do you think, Captain?"

Shanks thought about it for a minute. Though he had not noticed it before, Shanks could now see there was something different about Sara. Maybe it was the way Sara looked or was it her attitude, but something about her had changed.

"Ya think so?" replied Shanks with a smile.

Before Beckman could make another comment, Sara sat between the two. She was laughing so hard that she could barely catch her breath. Shanks and Beckman were staring at her but, it took her a few minutes before Sara could say anything.

"Well boys, it's been fun seeing you again but, I really need to get home."

With that Sara hopped off the bar stool and headed for the door. Thankfully many of the pirates were enjoying their partying so much that none, save Shanks and Beckman, saw her leave. Sara had only made it a few feet from the bar, when someone grabbed her arm. Sara stiffened. Since most of the townspeople had gone home, Sara did not know who it was.

"Don't leave," said a familiar voice.

"Shanks," Sara breathed.

"Come with me," Shanks continued, "Join my crew."

Sara slowly turned around to look at Shanks. "Shanks, I really don't know about this."

"Please, Sara! It will be fun! We'll see the world together!"

"Shanks, I'm sorry. I don't think I can."

Shanks dropped Sara's are and began to stare down at the street. Sara started to walk away, but she managed to get only five steps before she turned back to the pirate who had stolen her heart.

"Five years ago, I made a mistake that has haunted me." Sara looked into Shanks's eyes, "I now have that same opportunity in front of me and I am about to make the same mistake again."

"Sara," whispered Shanks.

"Captain Shanks, can I join your crew?"

Sara did not think Shanks's smile could not get any wider, but as he stood in front of her, it did.

"Monkey D. Sara, I gladly accept your offer to join my crew, but on one condition," said Shanks as he towered over Sara, "You must never use your Ferrin power to heal my left arm."

Before Sara could make a comment, Shanks kissed her! Sara closed her eyes for a few seconds but before anything else could happen, there were cheers and whistles. The two broke apart and Sara started to turn red. Shanks grabbed Sara's arm and dragged her towards the bar and his crew.

"Let's celebrate!" yelled someone as the crew reentered the bar, "To our new crew member!"

The partying lasted well into the night and many of the crew had hangovers the next morning, except of Sara and Beckman, who never drank as much as his crewmates or his captain. Sara left her jewelry shop to one of Mrs. Halia's daughters and set sail with the Red-Haired pirates. She did not know what the future held for her, but Sara was glad she had taken that opportunity.

Out At Sea

"It's beautiful, isn't?"

Sara jumped at the voice cutting though her thoughts. She had been watching the sun set over the ocean, and she did not hear Shanks walk up behind her.

"Yeah." _and full of promise, _but Sara could not the last part because Shanks dragged her back to the party.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! I'm back! Well at least until school work (and other things) get piled up, then school stuff takes priority. Just know that I will try to update as soon as I finish a chapter (I don't know how long that will take). Otherwise, please enjoy the chapter and give constructive criticism.**

**Also, I will be posting three new stories and a new chapter for Archangel's Fallen sometime in the near future. So Please take a look if you are interested. THANKS! -Kendal**

* * *

Even with the little sun light that was coming into the room, Sara thought it was too bright. It didn't help that she had a huge hangover from all the partying. Groaning, Sara pulled her sheets over her head and tried to go back to sleep. She was in between sleep and consciousness, when the door suddenly burst open.

"SARA!"

Shanks jumped and landed on top of the bed, much to Sara's annoyance. Sara tried not to move, hoping that Shanks would be so drunk that he would think she was not there. It didn't work.

"Sara! Wake up!" yelled Shanks and he promptly ripped the covers off of Sara.

He was not going to stop, especially now that he was poking her in the ribs. Sara smacked his hand away and pulled the covers over her head. To which Shanks once again pulled at the covers; however this time he tossed the covers out of her reach. He promptly resumed poking her in the side. Sara growled and grabbed his hand in an attempt to get him to stop annoying her.

"Shanks," growled Sara.

"Yes?" said Shanks with a very goofy grin.

"GET Out!" yelled Sara, almost furious at him.

For a moment, she accidentally lost control of her powers; sending a small healing wave into Shanks' arm she was holding. Shanks blinked for a moment, looking between their hands and Sara. In his drunken state, it had not occurred to him that she would have this type of reaction. His grin fell and he gave her a hard look.

Damn, he had that knowing look and Sara could fell her heart break. He had felt her lose control.

"Shanks…." Whispered Sara, she felt terrible for lose control and even yelling at him.

However before Sara could say anything, someone cleared their throat. The pair turned to find Beckman standing at the door, his arms crossed over his chest

"Captain, you're needed on the main deck."

Shanks left the bed and Sara let his hand slip from hers. He didn't look at her as he left the room. Beckman watched his captain leave the room. He had seen and heard most of what had happened. It was strange. The only time he could remember seeing his captain sober up that quickly was when Shanks was sparing with Hawkeye.

"Ben, I didn't mean to do that to him." Sara's voice broke him from his musings, "I lost control for a moment. I think he thought I was trying to regrow his arm."

Beckman gave Sara a look. His knowledge of the Ferrin was what he had read in books and heard from tales and rumors. He had assumed that the stories about the Witches regrowing limbs were just that: stories with almost no real truth.

"You can regrow his arm?"

"Yes but not without great cost." The air hung heavy with unspoken words. "When a Ferrin heals with their power, it drains the Ferrin's energy. Regrowing an arm or even a finger drains a healer's energy faster and too much energy drained, the healer never recovers."

"In short, you regrow his arm; you'll die," commented Beckman.

Sara smiled at his frankness but, he hit the nail on the head, so to speak. It would kill her if she were to use her powers to regrow Shanks' arm. Bidding Beckman farewell because he was needed on deck, Sara prepared for her day.

* * *

Life on the ship had not come easy for Sara. She was used to being basically being self-employed and on her own time. Now she had to get up before dawn, if she did not have a hangover from all the partying. Though Sara did not mind all the work she had because it was something she was use to. It was definitely less work than having to put up with Mrs. Jasine and her perfectionism. Sara shuddered at the thought of that woman. However it was Doc Rowland that had taken some getting use to.

Doc Rowland usually was grouchy but today was very different. When Sara walked into the medical bay, he beckoned her over to his desk.

"What did ya do, girl?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sara

"The Captain looked pissed at our meetin'. Fist mate said it was an accident but that ya tried to use yar witch powers on him," said Rowland, "Ya know that he don't like ya usein' them power o' yours."

Sara looked at the floor. She felt even more terrible and wished she had not gotten mad at Shanks this morning.

"I know," replied Sara softly, "I didn't mean to lose my control."

The chair creaked softly as Rowland stood up. He put a hand on the young woman's shoulder.

"Give him a couple more hours. He's been stressed lately. Now get back to bloody work! I ain't got time to wait on ya!"

And the Rowland that she knew and loved was back. The rest of the day went slowly, most of the time Sara listened to Rowland complain about something. Occasionally, she would have to dodge or catch the odd medical supplies.

"Why the hell do ya have that gauze?" asked Rowland when he caught sight of Sara holding some gauze that he had thrown.

Sara shrugged. "It fell."

Rowland raised an eyebrow, but he said nothing and went back to reading a medical book. Two hours passed before anyone came to check on the two. The whole ship knew that Doc Rowland was not exactly the best company.

There was a knock on the door and someone cleared their throat. The two medics looked to see Yasopp leaning against the door frame.

"We're close to land. So be ready." With that, he left.

"Hey girl," said Rowland, "Ya better go get ready. Don't screw it up."

"What?"

"Are ya that thick girl?" growled Rowland, "I seen how ya two look at each other. Ya and the Captain need to work this out, but ya need to be prepared. Ain't any good if ya just become a blubbering mess."

Sara smiled and hugged the old doctor. Then she rushed out of the room before he could throw something at her.

"Crazy Girl!"

Sara laughed all the way to her room.

**On Land**

Most of the crew was unloading food and barrels of rum. Leaving Beckman to oversee the unloading, Shanks wandered off to a clearing in the woods. There were so many emotions going through his mind. Frustration, confusion, anger and worry. Being the captain of a ship was more difficult than he made it look. Adding other feelings into the mix and there was all sorts of trouble.

He sighed out loud. He knew Sara had not intentionally meant to try to regrow his arm. He had known it the moment she had whispered his name. Lifting his face to the sky, he took another deep breath and exhaled. The whole situation was extremely frustrating. He did not want to lose Sara, through accident or intention.

Sara kept glancing at the place where Shanks had disappeared into the forest and back to the crew, who were still working.

"Would you just go and talk to him," said a voice causing Sara to jump. Looking around, she found Yasopp standing beside the crate she was sitting on.

"Don't scare me like that," hissed Sara but Yasopp paid it no mind. He pulled her off the crate and shoved her towards the forest causing Sara to stumble a little bit.

"'Talk to the Captain'. That's the message from both Rowland and Beckman." With that he walked away.

Guess she was going to have to 'man-up' so to speak. Sighing, Sara set off towards the forest.

The forest path was a little difficult to traverse in the low light, but Sara was thankful that her eyes adjusted quickly. That's when she noticed Shanks coming down the trail. Luckily, he had not seen her yet, or at least that is what she thought.

"Shanks!" yelled Sara as she darted up the path.

However, Sara was wrong about one thing, Shanks had seen her coming up the path. Part of him was relieved to see her. He had so much to say.

"Sa—"

Before Shanks could finish the first word, Sara had practically tackled him and buried her face in his chest.

"I'm sorry. It was an accident!"

"I know." Blue eyes met his dark brown ones.

"What?"

"I know it was an accident. You wouldn't break a promise." Shanks smiled down at his witch.

Blinking, Sara had a flash back to five nights prior, when Shanks had accepted her into his crew. She looked down at her hands on his chest.

"I didn't promise," she whispered as Shanks just stared at her. Then she spoke a little louder, "I never promised you."

His expression was priceless when he realized that she was right. Sara almost had to brace herself against Shanks to keep from doubling over with laughter.

"EHHHH?!" was all he could say.

"You kissed me before I could say anything," Sara pointed out, "but I swore that I would never use my powers on you unless I absolutely had to."

Her words calmed him down. How could he have completely forgotten that, Shanks wondered. He chalked it up to stress and booze and buried his face into Sara's hair.

"So am I forgiven?" asked Sara cutting though the silence.

"Hmmm," was all Shanks' only reply.

Sara smiled and all seemed right in the world but the moment was shattered by the sound of a pistol clicking.


End file.
